If you thought the only big news about vending machines these days is that they are going cashless, prepare for a rude awakening. When it comes to the modern vending machine market, there are a long list of items that you would never expect. Fortunately, depending on placement, these machines have record sales and some are even being used as unsuspecting Good Samaritans to help those in need. Although prototypes of the vending machines described below are currently being used, they are still so new that they have not been introduced to a widespread market.
Airports are full of people that are traveling to engage in social occasions that might require special dress. Of course, it is difficult to catch a flight after work to make a formal engagement in another city and expect to remember everything. For this reason, many airports are now carry business and formal wardrobe essentials like neckties and cuff-links in vending machines. Naturally, many of these items are available in machines that take cards and not change.
Did you arrive from out of town with everything you needed except a gift? Also a popular vending machine for airports, there are vendors selling one-of-a-kind art that is priced to sell. For between $20 to $50, the buyer can get a gift of their choice and know it does not have an exact replica. Another popular vending machine that sells art is an instant photograph machine that prints from an image saved on a smartphone.
For some hotel bars, the problem is that there is no one on staff to serve customers that arrive at erratic times. Instead of leaving a member of staff on-call at the bar when a large party may or may not eventually arrive from the airport, consider the new beer vending machines. These items are being tested on the market, but hotel security being nearby is considered an advantage when this type of vending machine is being operated because they will need to be carded before getting their beer cans.
In the past, it was common to visit restaurants that had vending machine options. The customers went into a restaurant with a kitchen that served hot food, but there was no cashier to take the money. Instead, hot food was placed in a window that required a coin to access. Today’s vending machines offer a lot of these same foods and they are piping hot when purchased. For example, new foods being tested on the current market include a pizza ATM, cooked eggs, ice cream, lobster, cupcakes and energy shots. The reason these items were not available in the past was due to the expense of creating and operating machines that could serve frozen or hot foods. Now, the technology needed to make foods hot when they are purchased or keep them cold has significantly reduced in cost.
Will you purchase your next laptop with a vending machine? Traveling can be unbearable if you leave behind your favorite electronics, and new vending machines help keep you covered. Although they are defined as novelty vending machines, they offer iPads, digital cameras, USB cords and headphones. There have also been tests for the digital music and video vending machine market.
In most cases, new vending machines are tried out and they sometimes fail to turn a profit. Regardless, the idea of a vending machine being used for other purposes is gaining speed. In recent incantations, vending machines to serve the homeless were a good idea but they were prone to pillaging. Now, there is a new system being tested that requires a simple electronic code for homeless people to be able to access food, blankets and other essentials from their vending machine.
One other idea that is not meant to turn a financial profit comes from the city of Detroit. There, local librarians started a project to distribute children’s books to local kids. They did this by recycling old vending machines donated to their cause. Instead of inserting money, the glass in the front of the machines is removed. This means that vending machine owners that have an excess of outdated models can make room in their warehouses for merchandise by giving the old machines a new life at a library.
